Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration, often referred to as AMD, is a medical condition, which usually causes central vision loss in older adults. Macular degeneration can make it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces, although enough peripheral vision remains to allow other activities of daily life.

AMD is not painful, which may allow it to go unnoticed for some time. Risk factors for macular degeneration may include smoking, obesity, Caucasian, female, and family history.

Having an annual eye exam is important for adults to allow Dr. Blake Dirks, Dr. Zach Dirks, or Dr. Vonnie Nelson to examine the macula and to measure vision. New research has shown that certain vitamins and proper sunglass protection for ultraviolet sunlight exposure may be helpful to lessen the risk of macular degeneration. Early diagnosis and continued observation by an eye doctor is crucial to protecting eyesight in macular degeneration patients.

Age-related macular degeneration, often referred to as AMD, is a medical condition which usually affects older adults. This vision-stealing disease is the result of degeneration to the macula and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of the damage to the retina. It occurs in dry and wet forms and is a major cause of blindness and visual impairments in adults over the age of fifty.

Macular degeneration can make it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces, although enough peripheral vision remains to allow other activities of daily life. The dry form of advanced AMD results from atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelial layer below the retina, which causes vision loss due to the damage of photoreceptors also known as rods and cones in the central part of the eye.

The wet form of advanced AMD causes vision loss due to abnormal blood vessel growth ultimately leading to blood and protein leakage below the macula. Bleeding, leaking and scarring from these blood vessels eventually causes irreversible damage to the photoreceptors and rapid vision loss if left untreated. Fortunately only about ten percent of patients suffering from macular degeneration have the “wet” type.

Macular degeneration is not painful which may allow it to go unnoticed for some time. For this reason, regular eye examinations are important. While approximately ten percent of patients age 66 to 74 will have findings of macular degeneration, the prevalence increases to thirty percent for patients age 75 to 85 years of age. Family history may also play a factor. The good news is that regular eye exams, early detection, and new treatment options enable doctors to maintain—and in some cases increase—visual acuity in patients.

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Interactive Eye

At St. Peter Eyecare Center, we believe it is important to keep our patients educated about healthy vision. Learn more about the anatomy of your eye with our Interactive Eye! Click and learn more.